#1 bestselling author Nicholas Sparks's new novel is at once a compelling family drama and a heartrending tale of young love.

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.

1. Ronnie is a difficult teenager who is prone to acting out and is alienated from both her parents at the
start of the novel. Were you rebellious as a teenager? How was this manifested? On the other side,
have you ever had to deal with a rebellious teenager? Did Ronnie’s behavior touch a nerve?

2. What do you think about the very different approaches to parenting taken by Ronnie’s mother and
father? Do you think Ronnie’s mother is too intrusive or can you understand her relationship with
Ronnie? Do you think Ronnie’s father is too absent, or can you understand why the relationship is the
way it is?

3. Early in the novel we learn that Ronnie was a piano prodigy who performed at Carnegie Hall when
she was thirteen. However, when we meet Ronnie she hasn’t played in many years and she’s sworn to
never play the piano again. Why does Ronnie feel this way? Who do you think Ronnie hurts more by
not playing the piano, herself or her father?

4. Reflecting back on his life, Steve wonders: “Was it still possible for someone like him to experience
the presence of God?” Why does Steve ask himself this? What role do religion and belief play in this
novel? How would you characterize Steve’s religious faith?

5. Why does Will fall for Ronnie? Can you understand the attraction from both Ronnie’s and Will’s
point of view?

6. What do you make of Blaze? How would you characterize her relationship with Marcus? Have you
ever been in a relationship that was not particularly healthy? Did you stay in the relationship? If so,
why?

7. Ronnie and Will fall in love very quickly over the course of the summer. Have you ever had a
summer romance that became something more than a fling?

8. This novel is, in large part, about loyalty and trust. Which characters exhibit the most trustworthiness
and which exhibit the least? How does a betrayal of trust affect various relationships within the novel?

9. In the middle of the novel, Will asks Ronnie how far she would go to protect a friend. Why does
Will ask Ronnie this? How far would you go to protect a friend?

10. How are Jonah and Ronnie affected by their parents’ divorce? What effect does divorce have on
children, in your experience?

11. Both Will and Ronnie come from families that have certain expectations of them. How do these
familial expectations shape them and in what ways do they reject these expectations?

12. Why does Ronnie get angry at Will toward the end of the novel? Do you think her anger is
justified?

13. What do you think of the choices Steve and Kim make as parents? Do you think they were right in
keeping certain things secret from their children?

14. Ronnie makes an important choice at the end of the novel. Would you have made the same choice
if you were in her position?

15. In what ways does Ronnie change over the course of the novel? In what ways does she stay the
same?

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Nicholas Sparks is the author of 14 books. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and children.